Abstract:

At present, commercial systems are usually used in pressure swing adsorption (PSA) experiments. However, the purchased equipment has disadvantages such as large size, complicated tubing design and high price, which are not conducive to undergraduate laboratory teaching. In this paper, a low-cost benchtop design of PSA system is proposed, with which students can build their own PSA equipment with common laboratory materials and conduct the testing and operation on their own. Using Li-exchanged zeolite as the adsorbent, the system can produce high-purity oxygen with a concentration up to 95.8%, which is comparable to that of commercial oxygen concentrator. The designed system can be disassembled and reassembled repeatedly and the process of building and testing is safe and fun. The proposed design can be used in the PSA experimental teaching for undergraduate students who major in applied chemistry, chemical engineering and other related subjects. We believe that students' interest in creating experimental equipment can be intrigued and their ability to solve practical problems can be improved during the build and testing process of the proposed PSA system.

Key words: Pressure swing adsorption, Benchtop system, Low cost, Oxygen production, Undergraduate laboratory teaching